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December 15, 2011

No Bake: Christmas Goodies Recipe

Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-cherry balls! The whole time I was making these delicious goodies with my mom, I had "Cherry Bomb" from The Runaways going through my head -- except I changed it to cherry balls. These delectable, and suuuper easy to make, little delights are one of my favourite Christmas treats. My mom has made them for as long as I can remember, and I wanted to share the recipe with you!

You will need:

1 jar of maraschino cherries (make sure they are not those candied cherries)

1 box of graham wafer crumbs

3 c. icing sugar (aka confectioners sugar)

1 c. butter (make sure it's butter, this is not a recipe for margarine)

3 c. short, shredded coconut

First, drain and towel dry the maraschino cherries. I use paper towel that I've placed over a cookie cooling rack. I then use another paper towel to dab the juices off the top of the cherries.

Then, cream the butter -- you may need to pop it into the microwave for a few seconds. The butter needs to be nice and soft in order to make the paste, but you don't want the butter to melt. Next, add the icing sugar and the coconut, and mix into a smooth paste. Easy!

Now you get to make the balls! First, take a small amount of paste in your hands -- remember, you need to have enough paste to cover all of the cherries, but you also need enough to cover the cherry when you make a ball. Press the paste with your fingers to make it nice and flat, and big enough to cover the cherry. Then you roll it into a ball.

After you've rolled the paste and cherry into a little ball, roll it in the graham wafer crumbs, and place it on a cookie sheet. The amount of cherry balls you will be able to make will vary according to how many cherries are in the jar: my mom made 42 cherry balls, and I made 51.

Put your cookie sheet of cherry balls into the freezer until they are solid, and then store them in an air tight container. They are delicious when still frozen, or you can let them thaw a bit. They are such a yummy little treat, and there is no stove required :)